The exhibition "Melting and Learning from Each Other Towards Brilliance: Fine Cultural Relics from the Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties" opened on August 28 at the Jinci Museum in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province. It brings together more than 100 cultural relics from multiple cultural and museum institutions in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other provinces, presenting the historical facts of ethnic integration and civilization evolution over several hundred years from the Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties.

From the Qin and Han dynasties onward, agricultural and nomadic civilizations interacted continuously, reaching a crucial stage of integration during the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang dynasties. Northern ethnic groups entered the Central Plains, and merchants from the Western Regions traveled eastward along the Silk Road. Exotic patterns, music, dance, and beliefs intertwined and coexisted with local culture, ultimately shaping the open, generous, and magnificent character of Chinese civilization.

On August 28, a painted pottery horse from the Taiyuan Municipal Museum was on display in this exhibition. (Photo provided by Taiyuan Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics)

This exhibition is based on the historical heritage of the three ancient capitals of Chang'an (now Xi'an), Luoyang and Jinyang (now Taiyuan), and displays more than 100 precious cultural relics, covering a variety of categories such as pottery figurines, porcelain, bronze mirrors, sculptures, and epitaph rubbings.

The exhibition is divided into four sections: "Turbulent Times – East and West Unite" uses the three capitals of the Northern Dynasties as a thread, outlining the historical background of East-West confrontation and mutual influence through cultural relics such as pottery figurines and roof tiles; "The Casting of Mountains and Rivers – North and South United" focuses on the reunification of the Sui Dynasty, presenting the cultural convergence reflected in the Grand Canal, the intermarriage between Han and non-Han peoples, and the Tianlongshan Grottoes; "The Beginning of a Prosperous Age – The Grandeur of China" relies on pottery figurines, porcelain, and rubbings of inscriptions to showcase the prosperous pattern of the three capitals standing in tripartite balance during the Tang Dynasty; and "The Signs of Integration" systematically explains the evolution from collision to integration between Han and non-Han peoples and between East and West from five dimensions: system, identity, belief, aesthetics, and material exchange.

This exhibition is hosted by the Taiyuan Municipal Bureau of Cultural Relics and co-organized by the Taiyuan Municipal Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and the Jinci Museum of Taiyuan, together with several cultural and museum institutions including the Luoyang Museum, Xi'an Museum, Xi'an Beilin Museum, Taiyuan Museum, Tianlongshan Grottoes Museum, and Jinyang Ancient City Archaeological Museum.

(Source: Hu Jian, China News Service)